How to create wsdl from xsd

Question

I want to create a wsdl by using 3 xsd-files. How do you that?

I tried this in the command prompt:

wsdl.exe /language:cs /parameters: c:\myService\Contract\HeaderData.xsd c:\myService\Contract\MyData.xsd c:\myService\Contract\Messages.xsd /out: MyWsdl.wsdl

What do I wrong?

Answer 1

I believe that there's a misunderstanding here. Most likely the wsdl.exe in your illustration refers to Microsoft's tool , which is described as:

The Web Services Description Language tool generates code for XML Web services and XML Web service clients from WSDL contract files, XSD schemas, and .discomap discovery documents .

From what you seem to imply by asking the output to be a WSDL file, I can safely assume that you really try to create a WSDL file starting from XSD files. Below I am trying to explain why you cannot do that that easy, and what options you have.

The diagram below shows you the model behind the WSDL 1.1 specification.

Your XSDs fit exactly, and only under types . It WSDL terms, types represent your type system used to describe the parts that make up messages, which are then used to describe input/output and faults of operations organized as ports (abstract interfaces) bound to application/transport protocols, and ultimately made (physically) accessible as services at one or more network endpoints.

To generate WSDL(s) out of XSD(s), you realized by now that you need to provide some more data to a tool that would automatically generate a WSDL for you. For example, what operations you want to describe in your WSDL? For each one of them, what's the input, most likely the output and maybe one or more faults? How would you group them (portType = interface)? What binding do you want to use: HTTP, SOAP? What version of SOAP? SOAP over: HTTP, MQ? SOAPAction? How many WSDL files: 1, or maybe 3?

Some tools may ask you a series of questions (data entry/wizards) along the above lines and then create the WSDL(s) for you. Others, use predefined patterns in the implementation of XSD schema constructs (for example, IFX has a certain way to define Request/Response elements) so based on those assumptions a specialized tool such as QTAssistant (I am associated with it) would ask you less questions, while still creating the WSDLs.

I remember one or two online tools that were able to allow the user to upload XSD files and then create WSDL after prompting you a couple of questions, but I can't seem to find them anymore... kind of like this one ...

Answer 2

From my understanding, you don't go xsd->wsdl, but I could be wrong.

Generating a WSDL from an XSD file might help clear it up for you though.

Answer 3

You cannot auto-generate a WSDL from an XSD in this manner. In order to create the WSDL, you need to start with a new WSDL and import this XSD.

The XSD defines the types of data that are available for services. Some XSD is usually embedded in a WSDL, some are imported specifically.

An alternate way is to use the XSD in C# to generate a service, and then extract the concrete WSDL from that service, but this is not preferred as many teams prefer contract first web services .